Treatment Plans for Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD

Borderline personality disorder or BPD is one among the common mental disorders found in humans and relates to the clinical settings that relate to the stressful situations. The disorder is often left under-diagnosed or in-correctly treated many a times. This disorder often causes various marked distress and an impairment in social as well as occupational functioning which are associated with higher rates of self-destructive behavior.

Psychotherapy, hospitalization or medications are considered amongst the other treatments for Borderline personality disorder.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy and is a practical as well as a basic procedure for treating the borderline personality disorder. Various forms of psychotherapy have proven to be effective and a few amongst them are as follows:

The therapy session of CBT involves the assistance of mental health counselors (therapist) who will make a patient aware of all the inaccurate and negative thought process. This therapy will also guide the patient to see various options clearly and seek out for strategies and solutions.

DBT or Dialectical Behavior Therapy was considered exclusively to tackle the symptoms of borderline personality disorder. Through a combined approach of skills-based and physical treatments with meditation-like exercises, are often considered as a treatment for BPD. These exercises prove to be helpful for regulating various emotions and improve the relationships.The Following modes of treatment are included in DBT and each of them plays a significant role in making the treatment a successful one.

Individual Psychotherapy: The sessions are held once a week and after successful participation in the therapy sessions, the patient will be able to combat the ill effects of BPD effectively.

Group Skills Training: The training session is held on a weekly basis and concentrates on the skill sets like emotional regulation, distress tolerance skills, interpersonal effectiveness and core mindfulness skills.

Consultation through Phone: The therapists are available to be contacted through phone, which makes it easier for the patient to contact them during emergencies. Through this option, the person can also get hold of all the sessions that are learned in the entire week.

Case Consultation Meetings for Therapists: Working with the patients can be strenuous for the therapists and borderline personality disorder is extremely challenging too. Experts believe that to treat this disorder one must be a part of interactive conversations and other therapy sessions.

The process of DBT often lasts for one to two years and one has to effectively make a note of all the changes that are observed in a person's state of mind. Through the therapies the unhealthy behaviors of a person is addressed which tend to harm the quality of life.

MBT is a kind of speech therapy that facilitate in the identification and segregation of your feelings & thoughts from the people around you. It lays stress on all the activities where a person is bound to react without thinking. The concept of mentalization is reinforced, practiced in an emphasized manner. This is often done in a supportive and safe psychotherapy setting.

The thoughts that are shared considering a person's experience as well as the perspective of the therapist often leads to instability and bewilderment with a patient's head and also, the patients get attached with their therapist. It is still encouraged as without this, people who are suffering from this disorder often lack the capacity to function in a healthy way.

Mentalization is similar to any other skill such as public speaking and can be learned easily. People who are a part of MBT often experience, a focus on learning new skills and practicing them regularly. They also improve their social skills and interact with people in a direct manner.

This type of treatment comes together with various approaches that are related to therapy sessions, which include evaluating various life patterns in a repetitive manner. These life themes are known as 'schema' and through this a person is able to identify the positive changes and change the negative perspectives instantly.

The primary goal of Schema Focused Therapy is to help in identifying various schemas that are related to the past events. The therapist and patient work in groups to design various strategies that will help in altering the functioning of emotion processing. This also focuses on changing the lifestyle that results in maladaptive schemas.

TFP is also known as psychodynamic psychotherapy and helps one in understanding various emotions that interfere with the various life events. Through successful participation in the sessions the relationship between the patient and the therapist are improved and then these insights are implemented in the person's ongoing life situations.

Medications to Treat Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD

Borderline personality disorder cannot be cured using medications. Nevertheless, they can aid in bringing down the occurrence of symptoms that are associated with anxiety and depression. The mental counselor may often prescribe anti-psychotics and anti-depressants. When taken in regular doses, these can also help in bringing down the levels to a considerable amount.

Hospitalization:

Hospitalization is opted when all the other treatments are proving to be less effective. It also helps the patient to be safe from disturbing thoughts, behavior and self-injury. The treatment may last longer and is often offered to the people who are unable to cope with various stressful conditions.

Finally, a lot of people find the above treatments relieving and often continue with the treatment for a year or so. There are cases where the behavior was brought under control only after 10 years of treatment.

Unfortunately, people never consider about seeking help for this mental illness. They are often under a notion that the symptoms are not grave enough to get them treated. Many people additionally are suffering from eating disorders, substance fear and other conditions which can be treated by medication.

Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD in Children

Various researches have shown that the occurrence of symptoms in adolescents is similar to the adults. However, in the former condition, treatment is a bit controversial. The symptoms begin to show in the early adolescence and are difficult to diagnose in children below 18. Many mental health counselors often fail to understand the exact symptoms in adults as well. Although the symptoms tend to allow the physicians to treat the disorder at them, they tend to write it as 'deferred'. At times, medication is often prescribed for all the adolescents who are suffering from the disorder.

Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD is often left under diagnosed in children and is also inadequately studied. As a result of this, the nature as well as the course of its occurrence is not yet understood in the children. Studies have also shown that the symptoms begin to occur in the early days and lasts until adulthood. The lack of an early treatment often leaves the sufferer to struggle for finding a permanent cure for the disorder. This might also lead to self-injury and other self-reinforcing behaviors in extreme cases.

Many evidences suggest that the diagnosis of BPD can be effectively done in adolescents. However, there are other studies available, which suggest that the diagnosis is unstable in most cases. Chanen and colleagues undertook a case study, which showed that only 40% of adolescents were able to meet the criteria of undergoing a follow up treatment for BPD for 2 years.

A community study reported the condition in twins, which showed that the self-reported symptoms took almost two to three years to be cured. The results also displayed a reduction in the rate of diagnosis during the study period along with a successful reduction in symptoms during a 10-year treatment.